Month: March 2020

Footsteps of Dinosaurs – Prehistoric Trackways National Monument – Las Cruces – New Mexico

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Just north of Las Cruces off of highway 185, is a place where dinosaurs walked. Well, actually most of New Mexico is where dinosaurs walked, but Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is one of the few places that the evidence of their existence can be plainly seen. Best of all, it costs nothing more than effort to see them.

Administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Prehistoric Trackways is about 5,000 acres and is a relatively new monument, only recieving the designation in 2009. About 10 miles north of Las Cruces on 185, a sign shows the turnoff to the Trackways. You will go down the road, over a bridge crossing the Rio Grande River. The next road to the right leads to the Trackways. There is no sign! The first time I drove past and missed the turn. The second time I googled the location and GPSed my way in. There is a small parking area where there is a kiosk showing some of the trails. There will be a trail running from the parking lot called the ridge trail. It lives up to its name running along the ridgetop of a deep wash. The picture above is taken from that trail and shows how deep the wash is.

After the trail winds over what appears to be a small extinct volcano, it drops down into the wash the trail has been following. The length is roughly two miles. Take some water. At the bottom you quickly realize that the occassional streambed is a sheet of hard rock and yes, it is full of dinosaur tracks.

When you start looking there are prints everywhere and it seems endless. This is considered the largest volume of paleozoic tracks anywhere in the world. The site was discovered by a Las Cruces resident named Jerry MacDonald in 1987. He had overheard tales from locals that they had seen places where these were visible and collecting the stories together he went hunting for them, eventually finding the location we all get to enjoy today. He also hauled out on his back 2500 pieces of the trackways which are now housed at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. If one is unable to hike out and see the trackways in their natural state, a visit to the museum might be a worthwhile aternative.

There are over 14 miles of trackways through out the Monument. This one is the easiest to access and I have to admit, there was a fair amount of work involved with the ridge hike. The others are scattered in various locations and are more difficult to get to. I recommend this one because the trail is marked and it only takes a few hours to do.

In some of these there are distinct claw marks showing their reptilian lineage. This area was also covered with what was known as the Permian Sea. Prehistoric crocodiles roamed these shores called Eryops.

While I was hiking, another hiker caught up with me and we walked through the trackway together. He’s pointing out the toemarks of what had to have been a huge beast. Not sure what it was. At the trackways you can get up close and really study these 280 million year old fossils.

There were also Dimetrodons, dinosaurs that had large fins on their backs. During the paleaozioc era this area would have been the edge of a large sea surrounded by volcanoes and thick foliage. These dinosaurs would have been hunting and avoiding being eaten. It would have been a thick humid place, not like the desert and mountains we see now.

The evidence of the long ago seas are here as well. These fossilized wave ripples from the bottom of the sea makes the conclusion obvious.

Fossilized sealife lays all around intermingled with the dinosaur tracks. Look closely, it’s everywhere.

Once you are back there and experience this amazing place, the hike is well worth it. One just has to keep in mind that there are no facilities of any kind here. No bathrooms, no water, no food trucks, though the latter might not be a bad idea.

As I followed the Trackway I realized that the wash we were following led back to the parking lot. I saw the wash when I first got there but decided it made more sense to follow the trail. If I had known that that was the same one I would have saved myself the climbing up the ridge. It would have been shorter and easier. Now I admit I really enjoyed the view from the ridge trail and it was a nice hike.

The picture above shows the Rio Grande River as it appears from the ridge trail. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Bureau of Land Management does improvements on the site. Marking the road with a couple of signs would be a good start. Finding Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is worth the effort, especially if you are a dinosaur nut like me. This is a chance to actually walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs. It’s an outing that is hard to beat.

Writing and photography by Mikel B. Classen. Copyright by Mikel B. Classen 2020

For more information on Mikel B. Classen, his writing or photography visit his website at http://www.mikelclassen.com

Chloride – Ghost Town – Sierra County – New Mexico

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Those of you that know me, know I love a good ghost town. This is one of the best I’ve seen. In 1880, Silver was discovered in the north of the Black Range Mountains. The ore was discovered by a Brit by the name of Henry Pye. A few months after he filed his claim, he was killed by Apaches. but Pye’s discovery had gotten out. The town of Chloride was born and eventually swelled to nearly 3000 people.

Heny Pye’s cabin is pictured above. There were 12 producing mines and nearly 500 holes that had been dug by prospectors throughout the surrounding hills.

Chloride had 9 saloons, 3 general stores, restaurants, butcher shops, candy store, lawyers, doctors, Chinese laundry, 2 hotels, livery stable, smelter and sawmills.

Chloride began as a tent city. Hard Rock miners came from all around to try their hand at finding a motherlode in the mountains and canyons to the west of the town. The town grew as fast as it could be built.

Much of the town still remains and the words “Ghost Town can be applied loosely here. There are still a few hardy souls living here. They take care of the town and recognize it for the historical treasure that it is. A few locals keep it open for those of us that like to visit these kinds of places. There is no shortage of visitors to Chloride.

Main street in Chloride goes through the one tree that makes up the Chloride National Forest. It’s a 200 year old oak that was there when the town began. I believe this tree was Chloride’s “Hangin’ Tree.” Though I haven’t found out how many men met their end here. For it to be named as it is, there had to be a few.

There is a museum at Chloride which is kept open most of the time. It is run by volunteers and is inside one of the old General Stores. The Pioneer Museum is housed in one of the original 1880 buildings and the interior is full of era correct artifacts. The building was originally built by a James Dagliesh who had the old timbers logged out of the nearby mountains. Eventually it became the local post office, pharmacy, and the local newspaper, The Black Range, was printed in the top floor beginning in 1882. Eventually, when the town becan to die, so did the store.

When the store finally closed up for the last time, the owners boarded it up and covered it with metal roofing leaving the inside just as it was in 1923. They left everything including all of the stock, newspaper equipment, postal records, town records, original records of some of the early businesses, and even some of old copies of “The Black Range” newspaper. The building was sold in 1989 and after 4 years of restoration and cleaning, bats and rats had been living quite happily inside, the old store was turned into the Pioneer Museum. The items inside were a treasure trove. The end result is a great step back into time. I was also able to pick up a great map of New Mexico ghost towns for 10 bucks.

One of the things I really like about Chloride, is that the look and feel of the old silver mining town is still here. When the silver panic struck in 1893, Chloride began to die. The miners and settlers basically packed up and left everything as it was. A few stayed for a few years hoping that silver would recover but it never did enough to make it as profitible as it once was. An entire town was left behind. The dozen people that still live here, keep the town going for ghost town buffs and visitors. There is a small picnic and rest area in the heart of town next to the museum, visitation is encouraged. I recommend it.

The drive to Chloride is well worth it. Located between Socorro and Truth or Consequences just off New Mexico 52. The road goes through Cuchillo and Winston which are both ghost towns as well and worth checking out. A sign at Winston points left and Chloride is two miles down the road.

I don’t know why ghost towns hold such a fascination for me, but when I go to places like Chloride where people are working hard to preserve a quickly vanishing past, I always get a sense of wonderment and my imagination shifts into overtime. I can picture the town of old, people filling the streets in their search for riches and prosperity. I can almost hear the racket from the saloons and smell the manure and mud that made up the streets. I have to admit the horses in a nearby corral didn’t hurt that effect. It was a different world then, though seemingly romantic, it was also hardship and often, death. The Apaches didn’t want settlers digging up their land and they retaliated. The mud and the manure created typhiod and scarlet fever. Tuberculosis was rampant. It was a harsh life. Only the hardy made it. Looking around Chloride, it is easy to see.

Writing and photography by Mikel B. Classen. Copyright by Mikel B. Classen 2020.

For more information on Mikel B. Classen, his writing or his photography, visit his website at www.mikelclassen.com